Portable lift



Mmm, 1949. 11.1,. HICKS 2,463,381

PORTABLE LIFT Filed Aug. v, 1944 Patented Mar. 1, 1949 PORTABLE LIFT Marvin L. Hicks, Vallejo, Calif., assigner of onehalf to Rufus N. Ward, Greenville, S. C.

Application August 7, 1944, Serial No. 548,425

(Cl. 254-Z) 2 Claims. 1

The invention relates to a novel portable lift, and more particularly has reference to a porttable lift whereby heavy objects such as pianos, electric refrigerators, ranges, furniture, boxes and the like may be moved along substantially smooth surfaces with ease and safety and without scarring, rubbing, or otherwise damaging either the object being moved or the floors.

Another object of my invention is to provide a portable lift of the character described wherein the object carried thereby may be readily spotted in the exact location desired,

Another objectof my invention is to provide a portable lift of the type above described which may be readily operated by a single individual.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the details of lconstruction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application, wherein like characters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 .is a View in side elevation showing the portable lift in position relative to an object to be moved, the lift disposed at the right hand corner of the object being broken away.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Figure l, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a perspective View of the detachable lift extension.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the adjustable buffer roller.

Figure 5 is a view taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 4, looking in the direction of the arrows, but being on a slightly enlarged scale.

As shown in Figure 2, the portable lift includes a base or chassis I which is provided adjacent each end thereof with a bifurcated member I'I, each bifurcated member being supported by a shaft (not shown), which extends through an aperture in the base and projects into a housing I5 anchored to the upper face of the base, and suitable ball bearings are disposed within the housing so that the bifurcated member may have swivelling movement. A wheel I8, preferably provided with a pneumatic tire, is journalled in the arms of each bifurcated member Il so that the chassis I may be readily moved along the floor or other surface.

A pair of boxes or supports I6 are also secured to the chassis I, and a vertically disposed shaft 3 is conveniently attached within each box I6. A frame 4 having a pair of spaced horizontal members connected at their free end by spaced vertical members is provided along each vertical member with a pair of sleeves 5 which are adapted to encircle the shafts 3 in order that the frame `4 may have vertical movement relative to the shafts 3. A plate or equalization bar I3 is supported by the frame 4 intermediate the horizontal members by means of braces I4. The raising of the frame 4 is controlled by a hydraulic unit, such as a jack 2, the piston rod I2 of which engages the equalization bar, as clearly illustrated in Figure 2. A vertical rod II extends from the bar I3 to the upper horizontal member of the frame 4. To elevate the piston rod I2, a foot pedal 24 is associated therewith and to lower the rod the foot treadle 26 is employed, and since this assembly is well known in the art, no further description is believed necessary.

In order to employ the unit to move an object such as shown in Figure 1, I provide a lift assembly Which is adapted to be detachably connected with the frame 4, and as shown in Figure 3, this unit includes spaced vertical supports I9 which are connected by means of horizontal elements 20 attached at their free ends to the supports I9 by welding or the like. An extension 2I is carried by the lower end of the supports I9 and may be strengthened or reinforced by braces 25 secured to the supports and the eX- tension 2l. In order to connect the lift to the frame, it will be observed that each support |19 is provided With a pair of spaced substantially horizontally extending arms 22, and the free end of each arm is recessed to lt lover a stud 8 provided on each of the sleeves 5. Hence, it can be seen that the lift may be readily attached to lor removed from the movable frame 4.

A buffer roller 9 of any desirable type is supported by spaced arms 30 of a reinforcing frame 3I and the opposite or free end of the arms 30 supports a handle 23. Intermediate the ends of each arm I provide a sleeve 32 which is adapted to encircle each shaft 3 adjacent the upper end thereof, and the frame 3l may .be locked at any desired position on the shafts 3 by manipulating a set screw 33 associated with each of the sleeves 32.

In operation, the lift is attached to the frame 4 by means of the arms 22 and the lift is moved forward with respect to the object until the plate 2l is located therebeneath, it being understood, of course, that the second lift is disposed at the opposite side of the object in the same manner.

To stabilize the lifts, it Will be noted that each sleeve 32 of the frame 3| is provided with a holder 'l and a similar holder 1 is attached to the base at each end thereof. A tie bar or rod 2l is then secured to each of the holders 'I by a nut 28, thereby tying the respective lifts together, If perchance the roller 9 does not engage the surface of the object, the nuts should be further adjusted in order that the roller will contact the object, thereby holding the object secure to the lifts. The foot treadle is then actuated, thereby elevating the frame 4 and, as a consequence, the lift until the object is moved to the desired height above the surface such as shown in the dash line in Figure 1. The lifts may be readily moved in any direction by virtue of the castering movement of the wheels I8, and the units may be guided by the pressure on the handle 23 of either lift.

I claim:

1. A portable lifting device comprising a Wheeled base, a vertically movable jack mounted on said base, a pair -of spaced uprights secured to said base and extending upwardly therefrom, a frame slidably mounted on said uprights operatively associated with said jack and movable vertically with said jack, said frame having trunnions extending beyond said frame, a lifting platform detachably suspended on said trunmons, a vertically adjustable buffer roller adjustably mounted between said uprights at one end thereof in alignment with said lifting platform, said base and said roller each having a pair of brackets extending beyond said trunnions.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 including a tie bar, said tie bar adapted to be adjustably secured in said brackets when a pair of said lifting devices are utilized with the load therebetween for the purpose of securing the load and lifts together.

MARVIN L. HICKS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,067,625 Smith July 15, 1913 1,303,691 Tempt et al. May 13, 1919 1,520,630 Bateman Dec. 23, 1924 2,010,490 Jones Aug. 6, 1935 2,031,181 Smith Feb. 18, 1936 2,116,825 Crescent et al. May 10, 1938 

